10 Watermelon Health Benefits Facts You Should Know Today

As promised, here is our article on watermelon health benefits facts. We will start this article with a table, which will sum up the nutrition facts. After that we will start talking about the health benefits that will leave you surprised. So, without further ado, let us begin…

Nutrition Chart (via USDA National Nutrient Database) of Watermelon for per 100 grams of serving:

The chart above should give you a clear idea of how nutritious this amazing juicy fruit is. But just learning about the nutrition content doesn’t satisfy the motive of this article. There is much more to learn. So, it is high time that we look at the watermelon health benefits facts as promised in this article. Let’s begin…

2. Lowering Blood Pressure: High Blood Pressure, commonly known as Hypertension is one of the leading causes of strokes, heart attacks and several other diseases that are often fatal. Watermelon has been found to be very rich in citrulline – a type of amino acid. This amino acid converts into arginine – another amino acid. Both these amino acids aid in the production of nitric oxide. Nitric Oxide is known to be a vasodilator. This vasodilator helps in relaxing blood vessels by dilating them. Dilated blood vessels lower the blood pressure by allowing blood to flow freely.

3. Reduction of Insulin Resistance: In Type II diabetes, the cells in our bodies become resistant to insulin. The only way change this is to increase the sensitivity of cells to insulin. In other words, it is necessary to reduce insulin resistance of cells. There are compounds in watermelon that are converted into L-arginine, which has been found to increase insulin sensitivity and improve glucose metabolism.

4. Reduction in Muscle Soreness: Scientists have found that L-citrulline in watermelon helps muscles to relax, relieve soreness of muscles and increase anaerobic performance. Scientists have also found in several studies that L-citrulline helps to fasten the removal of lactic acid from body and hence, improve physical performance.

5. Prevention of Kidney Disorders: This fruit has high amounts of calcium and potassium. Studies have confirmed that both these nutrients help in renal toxin removal (removal of toxins from kidneys). Calcium is also known for reducing uric acid concentration in blood. It helps to maintain cell structure, regulate the functions of the cells and helps in cell differentiation process. And, we should not forget that watermelon is high in water content and helps to increase the frequency of urination, thereby flushing toxins out of the kidneys.

Watermelon Health Benefits Facts: 6-10

6. Deadly Enemy of Cancer: Lycopene content of watermelon is extremely high. This nutrient helps in reducing insulin growth and hence, prevalence of cancer is reduced. On top of that Lycopene helps with cancer regression as it targets and then interrupts growth of cancer cells, carcinogen metabolism and apoptosis. More importantly, watermelon has cis-isomeric Lycopene readily available, which is better than the variants found in pink guava and tomato. This makes watermelon a deadly foe of cancer.

7. Keeps Cardiovascular Diseases at Bay: Say thanks to Lycopene once again. This nutrient has been found to reduce LDL (low-density lipoprotein) or bad cholesterol, which is known for causing myriads of cardiovascular diseases.

8. Prevention of Macular Degeneration: The high amounts of Vitamin A in watermelon prevents premature macular degeneration – a very unfortunate eye disease. Overall, Vitamin A helps in maintaining eye health. In addition, the Lycopene present in the fruit prevents epithelial cells’ vacuolization in eye lens. This reduces risk of glaucoma and cataracts.

9. Prevents Erectile Dysfunction: Erection in men is caused cavernous veins in penis are relaxed. No! Erection is not caused by stimulation of cavernous veins as previously thought. Guess what? It is Nitric Oxide that helps in the relaxation process. Now, Nitric Oxide is produced by NO-synthase or L-arginine. L-arginine is available readily in watermelons. So men, eat more of this fruit if you want epic amorous nights (or days or noons or evenings) with your women.

10. Prevents Asthma: Vitamin C or ascorbic acid is present in abundance in watermelon. It has been found (though not conclusively) that Vitamin C is responsible for protecting hyperactive airways in people who are affected by asthma. So, Vitamin C can prevent exercise-induced asthma. This makes watermelon a good candidate for asthma treatment as well.

We are not done with our list of watermelon health benefits facts. We will return with another article to finish of the list. Trust us, you will find that list useful as well.